Q.If more than one embryo occurs in a seed then it is known as ____________.
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Polyembryony is the occurrence of more than one embryo within a single seed, first recorded by Leeuwenhoek in 1719 in Citrus seeds, and capable of producing several independent seedlings from one seed upon germination. It is described as true or false polyembryony depending on whether the extra embryos arise within the same embryo sac or in different embryo sacs of the same ovule, and arises through two main mechanisms: adventive polyembryony, where additional embryos develop directly from diploid nucellar or integument cells outside the normal embryo sac lineage (Citrus), of particular horticultural value since these embryos are genetically identical …
When more than one embryo develops inside a single seed — often because nucellar cells also form embryos in addition to the zygotic one — th …
The occurrence of more than one embryo in a seed is called polyembryony.
In some plants (e.g. Citrus, mango) more than one embryo develops within a single seed. This phenomenon, where a seed contains multiple embryos, is termed polyembryony. It often arise …
- CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQQ.Which of the following seeds has more than one embryo?(a) Citrus(b) Mango(c) Orange(d) All of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
Citrus, orange and mango seeds often contain more than one embryo — polyembryony.
The occurrence of more than one embryo in a single seed is called polyembryony. In many varieties of citrus fruits (including orange, which is itself a citrus) and in mango, extra embryos develop from the nucellus or integuments (adv …
- CBSE 2025Set A1 markQ.Match the correct pair and write the match for 'Apomixis'. Column I:(i) Apomixis(ii) Darwin(iii) Toddy(iv) Agarose(v) Detritivorous. Column II:(a) Galapagos Islands(b) Southern India(c) Sea weeds(d) Earthworm(e) Grass family.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Apomixis matches with (e) Grass family, as this asexual seed-formation mechanism is common among grasses.
Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that mimics sexual reproduction — seeds are produced without the fusion of gametes (without fertilisation), often because the diploid egg cell develops into an embryo directly, or a nucellar cell forms an embryo. This trait is exploited commercially for producing hybrid seeds that don't segregate i …
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Which of the following statements is incorrect for polyembryony?(i) Presence of more than one egg cell in the embryosac and all egg cells get fertilised.(ii) A number of embryos develop from different parts of an ovule.(iii) A number of embryos develop from the tissue of nucellus.(iv) Presence of more than one ovule in the embryo.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Polyembryony means more than one embryo forms in a single seed; option (iv) reverses the relationship (an ovule contains an embryo, not the other way round), so it is the incorrect statement.
Polyembryony is the occurrence of more than one embryo in a seed. It arises in genuine, documented ways:
- More than one egg cell forming in the embryo sac (e.g. when extra archesporial cells develop), with more than one egg getting fertilised — statement (i) is a real cause.
- Embryos developing from different cells/parts of the ovule other than the zygote (e.g. synergids also getting fertilised, or developing parthenogenetically) — statement (ii) is a real cause.
- Nucellar embryony — embryos developing directly from the diploid nucellus tissue surrounding the embryo sac, without fertilisation, seen commonly in Citrus and Mango — statement (iii) is a real, well-known cause. …
- CBSE 2024Set A11 markQ.If more than one embryo occurs in a seed then it is known as ____________.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The occurrence of more than one embryo in a seed is called polyembryony.
In some plants (e.g. Citrus, mango) more than one embryo develops within a single seed. This phenomenon, where a seed contains multiple embryos, is termed polyembryony. It often arise …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markQ.What is the presence of more than one embryo in a seed called?
›Reveal solutionSolution
The presence of more than one embryo in a single seed is called polyembryony.
Polyembryony occurs in some plants (e.g. Citrus, mango) when multiple embryos develop within a single ovule/seed, often due to the fertilized egg dividing to give more than one embryo, or nucellar cells surrounding the embryo sac developing into additional e …
- CBSE 2023Set A1 markQ.Fill in the blank: Occurrence of more than one embryos in a seed called ______.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Polyembryony is the presence of more than one embryo in a seed, seen commonly in citrus and mango.
Normally a seed has a single embryo formed from the fertilised egg (zygote). In polyembryony, additional embryos form either by fertilisation of more than one egg cell/synergid in the same embryo sac, or by development of embryos directly from nucellus or integument cells without fertilisation (nucellar/adventive embryony, a form of apomixis). It is commercial …
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Polyembryony commonly occurs in –(a) Tomato(b) Potato(c) Banana(d) Citrus
›Reveal solutionSolution
Polyembryony — more than one embryo developing in a single seed — is classically seen in Citrus.
In most flowering plants a seed contains a single embryo, but in some species more than one embryo may develop within a seed, a condition called polyembryony. It arises in two main ways: (i) fertilisation of more than one egg/synergid cell within the same embryo sac, or (ii) more commonly, the formation of additional 'adventive' embryos from the diploid cells of the nucellus surrounding the embryo sac — a form of apomixis that does not require fertilisation. Citrus (and certain Mango varieties) are the standard textbook examples of such nuc …
- CBSE 2022Set M1 markQ.Define Polyembryony.
›Reveal solutionSolution
More than one embryo developing within a single seed/ovule.
Polyembryony is the phenomenon in which two or more embryos develop within a single seed. It commonly occurs when the nucellar or integumentary cells of the ovule divide and develop into embryos in addition to the zygotic embryo. A …
- CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markQ.________ refers to many embryo in the same seed.
›Reveal solutionSolution
When a single seed develops multiple embryos instead of one, the phenomenon is called polyembryony.
Normally a seed contains a single zygotic embryo. In polyembryony, more than one embryo develops within a single seed — this can occur, for example, when nucellar cells surrounding the embryo sac start div …
- CBSE 2021Set NC1 markQ.Define polyembryony.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Polyembryony is a phenomenon in which a single seed contains more than one embryo, often arising when cells other than the fertilized egg (e.g., nucellar cells) also develop into embryos.
Definition and mechanism
Normally, a single fertilized egg (zygote) develops into one embryo per seed. Polyembryony, however, is the occurrence of more than one embryo within the same seed. This can happen through different mechanisms:
- Occasionally, in addition to the egg cell, one or more synergids or antipodal cells also get fertilized/develop into embryos.
- More commonly (as in Citrus and mango), diploid cells of the nucellus surrounding the embryo sac start dividing and give rise to additional embryos without undergoing fertilization — this is called nucellar polyembryony, and it is a form of apomixis (asexual seed formation). …
- CBSE 2019Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Write one point of difference between apomixis and polyembryony.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Apomixis produces a seed without any fertilisation event, while polyembryony refers to a single seed containing multiple embryos, whether or not fertilisation occurred.
Apomixis is a special asexual mode of seed formation in which an embryo develops without the actual fusion of male and female gametes (no fertilisation occurs), so the resulting seedling is a genetic clone of the mother plant — often via a diploid cell of the nucellus developing directly into an embryo. Polyembryony, in contrast, refers to the occurrence of more than one embryo within a single seed; this can arise either as a form of apomixis (e.g., additional embryos developing from nucellar cells alongside the zygotic embryo, as commonly seen in citrus fruits) or, less commonly, from other developmental irregularities, and does not by definition require the total absence of fertilisation (the seed may …
- CBSE 2018Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Which of the following is not a type of agamospermy?(a) Apospory(b) Apogamy(c) Adventive embryony(d) Geitonogamy
›Reveal solutionSolution
Apospory, apogamy and adventive embryony are all forms of agamospermy; geitonogamy is instead a mode of self-pollination and does not belong here.
Agamospermy is a form of asexual reproduction in flowering plants in which seeds are produced without the fusion of gametes (without meiosis and fertilization), so the resulting embryo is genetically identical to the parent plant. It occurs mainly by:
- Apospory: a diploid somatic (sporophytic) cell of the ovule directly develops into an embryo-sac-like structure, bypassing meiosis.
- Apogamy: the egg cell or another cell of the embryo sac develops directly into an embryo without fertilization.
- Adventive embryony: an embryo develops directly from a diploid cell of the nucellus or integument, outside the embryo sac (e.g., in Citrus, Mango). …
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